The life and times of Frederick Douglass is an autobiography about a freed slave who becomes an adviser to President Lincoln. He was born in slavery and was largely self-educated and self-liberated man. But his story begins with his birth some time in February of 1817. He was the son of a slave women and an unknown white man. His name was Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. He lived with his Grandmother and an aunt and rarely visited his mother who passed away when he was seven. He saw her maybe five times in his life. When he was eight he was sent to live with a ship carpenter in Baltimore. There he learned to read and he was introduced to the idea of abolitionists. He said that this time in his life, "...laid the foundation, and opened the gateway, to all my subsequent prosperity." After living a comfortable life there for seven years he was sent back to the country and where he worked for a farm owner who showed Douglass the brutal side to slavery. Here he was whipped and tortured. "If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lighting" When he was nineteen Douglass made the resolution that he was going to be free by the end of the year. But just a couple months after he decided this, his plan of escape was discovered and he was sent to prison. Two years later while working at a shipyard in Baltimore he ran away to New York City. Several weeks later he settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts with his newlywed bride whom he met in Baltimore and married in New York. This is where he changed his name to Frederick Douglass. "I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs."
While living in Massachusetts Douglass continued his reading and began to learn more about African American freedom. He joined several organizations such as a black church and Abolitionist meetings. This is where Douglass prescribed to Lloyd Garrison's weekly journal, the Liberator. When he first saw Garrison speak he was mesmerized and really inspired. "No face and form ever impressed me with such sentiments as did those of William Lloyd Garrison." Garrison was also impressed with Douglass and mentioned him in the Liberator. A few days Douglass gave his first speech at the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society's annual convention in Nantucket. He was only 24 years old. This started his career because the society asked him to speak on their behalf for three years. He then wrote this autobiography in 1845 at the age of 28.
Frederick Douglass is a very intelligent man who went through a lot in his life. He was born a half black slave and grew to be a well educated admired speaker for his race. He stood up for his causes and never gave up. Throughout his life Douglass grew to understand the world and the bad in it... and he was willing to do all he could to turn the bad to good. He had many important friends and many more followers. He was an extraordinary example of a great American. "This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. "
The life and times of Frederick Douglass is an autobiography about a freed slave who becomes an adviser to President Lincoln. He was born in slavery and was largely self-educated and self-liberated man. But his story begins with his birth some time in February of 1817. He was the son of a slave women and an unknown white man. His name was Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. He lived with his Grandmother and an aunt and rarely visited his mother who passed away when he was seven. He saw her maybe five times in his life. When he was eight he was sent to live with a ship carpenter in Baltimore. There he learned to read and he was introduced to the idea of abolitionists. He said that this time in his life, "...laid the foundation, and opened the gateway, to all my subsequent prosperity." After living a comfortable life there for seven years he was sent back to the country and where he worked for a farm owner who showed Douglass the brutal side to slavery. Here he was whipped and tortured. "If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lighting" When he was nineteen Douglass made the resolution that he was going to be free by the end of the year. But just a couple months after he decided this, his plan of escape was discovered and he was sent to prison. Two years later while working at a shipyard in Baltimore he ran away to New York City. Several weeks later he settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts with his newlywed bride whom he met in Baltimore and married in New York. This is where he changed his name to Frederick Douglass. "I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs."
While living in Massachusetts Douglass continued his reading and began to learn more about African American freedom. He joined several organizations such as a black church and Abolitionist meetings. This is where Douglass prescribed to Lloyd Garrison's weekly journal, the Liberator. When he first saw Garrison speak he was mesmerized and really inspired. "No face and form ever impressed me with such sentiments as did those of William Lloyd Garrison." Garrison was also impressed with Douglass and mentioned him in the Liberator. A few days Douglass gave his first speech at the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society's annual convention in Nantucket. He was only 24 years old. This started his career because the society asked him to speak on their behalf for three years. He then wrote this autobiography in 1845 at the age of 28.
Frederick Douglass is a very intelligent man who went through a lot in his life. He was born a half black slave and grew to be a well educated admired speaker for his race. He stood up for his causes and never gave up. Throughout his life Douglass grew to understand the world and the bad in it... and he was willing to do all he could to turn the bad to good. He had many important friends and many more followers. He was an extraordinary example of a great American. "This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. "